Ok, A friend and i have an 89 t-top and a 92 coupe camaro. Recently we raced just to see who had the slower car. To our suprise after grabbing traction my 89 blew the 92 off the road. The 89 runs rich has a glass pack and original transmission oh and it dies when it is in a bad mood. The 92 basically is perfect mechanical wise and mostly original. Is the 2.8 better or is the 3.1!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Well if you have a stock rear end you should have 3.42's. Does he have an auto or 5 spd? If he has a 700R4 he will have 3.23's which isnt as good on the acceleration side, if he has a 5 spd he has 3.42's and shorter gears. The 3.1 is just a 2.8 with a different crank, that is pretty much it, it has 5 more hp and 15 more ft/lb tq. If you are both running auto its possible, but if has a 5 spd he should have won. But they are both great motors either way.

 

Both automatics. Mine doesnt have the smog pump.

 

the smog pump makes a big difference. those things get pretty nasty over time. I've seen some that would barely turn by hand. I don't run one either.

 

It's the gearing. If they had the same gears the 3.1 would have a slight edge.

 

Unless the smog pump has drag on it or its seized, taking it off really does nothing for HP.